Now, Miandad questions rationale behind ban on ICL

Published: Saturday, November 22, 2008, 17:19 [IST]

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Lahore, Nov.22 : Former Pakistan cricket captain and now Director-General of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Javed Miandad, has joined a chorus of former and current players in questioning the logic behind the International Cricket Council's (ICC) ban on the Kapil Dev-led rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).

According to the CricInfo web site, Miandad believes there is immense "public pressure" on the PCB to bring ICL players back into the Pakistan fold and "past decisions by past [PCB] administrations" have "nothing to do with the new set-up".

The PCB banned all players contracted by the ICL, but Miandad said it's a policy the new board administration must reconsider, keeping in mind the "best interests" of Pakistan cricket.

Pakistan has suffered badly from the ban on ICL players imposed by boards around the world, essentially to back the BCCI in its dispute with the league and its owners.

As many as 19 Pakistan players - a mix of current and former internationals - are currently appearing in the ICL and the bans on them have severely depleted Pakistan's reserves.

"There is a lot of public pressure on the PCB to bring these players back from the ICL," Miandad told Cricinfo.

"The [ICL] players themselves are ready to represent Pakistan. The IPL, the ICL and all boards need to sit down and really sort this issue out," Miandad added.

Former captains-turned-administrators Arjuna Ranatunga and Clive Lloyd have also called for the issue to be resolved.

Miandad's comments do not yet indicate a wholesale change in the board's policy on the issue.

The previous PCB administration, under the chairmanship of Nasim Ashraf, banned players readily, in swift appeasement of the BCCI. But it is believed the current board is open to rethinking, or at least questioning, the stance.

With a number of ex-cricketers now in prominent positions in the board, the matter has been discussed informally inside, though it has yet to be done so as part of an official agenda.